Black Explorers 2: Focus on Black Women

Black Explorers Podcast Number 2

 

Hello History friends!

 

Welcome back to rememberinghistory.com where we are remembering history and we’re making it.

 

I’m Robin and I’m the host of this great and groundbreaking podcast series about Black explorers. In the first podcast of this series, we discussed William Sheppard who was one of the first black missionaries in Africa. He explored the Congo River region, established relationships with the local people like the Bakuba, learned the Kuba language and learned their techniques in hunting, music, growing crops and ancestral worship. Sheppard also established one of the first humanitarian organizations in the world and brought international attention to the human rights abuses (like slavery and torture) being committed against the local people as part of the Belgian rubber industry. He did so much on both sides of the Atlantic and his legacy as an explorer, human rights activist and African art collector continues to grow and spread. If you have not heard the previous podcast about William Sheppard, I hope that you will do so. It is fascinating and so inspirational.

 

That’s what I love about the explorers in this podcast series; they are courageous and visionary, yes, but they are also real humanitarians and activists. They wanted to (and yes they did) leave a positive legacy in their travels that has inspired and continue to inspire people today.

 

The explorers—the history makers—in today’s podcast show are no exception. In this podcast show, we will take a special focus. Our great black explorers are women. Many times, when we think of explorers, we are thinking only of men. Yes, there were lots of men who are explorers. And traditionally men had the means and more opportunity to make explorations. But that didn’t stop many women—past and present—from following their dream to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life or new civilizations or boldly go where most people have not gone before. (Ok, yes, I borrowed that from Star Trek but this description definitely applies here!) These women explorers in today’s podcast show went far and wide in search of adventure…and they definitely found it. So, I hope that you will enjoy this show and their stories. And I really hope to show that we all can achieve our dreams if we are committed, determined and focused--just like the explorers in this great and groundbreaking podcast series.

 

Okay, before we get started, just a bit of housekeeping.

 

Please remember that you can find additional information about the people in this podcast series, you can listen to other interesting podcasts and read the bodacious blog on the rememberinghistory.com website and the Remembering History Facebook page. There is also a special Facebook page called the Remembering History Podcast page that focuses specifically on information in the Wiki history podcasts. But the website and both of the Facebook pages, you will find a great community of fun and friendly historians who welcome everyone into the fold. Start a new discussion. Ask a question. Make a criticism. Or just enjoy the banter. Just come and have a good time.

 

Also remember that there will be one final part to the black explorers podcast series in which we discuss the Black explorers of Mammoth mountain. Most of these explorers were former slaves and they were actually guides that went into the Mammoth caves, way down deep where most people would not venture to tread. But they did. And their stories are amazing. So, please stay tuned for part 3 of this podcast series.

 

So, that’s all the details for now. Without further ado, let’s get started discussing our two history makers, Black women explorers.

 

Our first great explorer challenged not only race and gender barriers but also an age barrier.

 

Her name is Barbara Hillary and she made history! She was the first African American woman to reach both the North Pole AND the South Pole! And she made these incredible accomplishments in her 70s.

 

But let me back up and tell her story properly; I am so excited to tell her accomplishments but I also want to tell her STORY because that is also amazing.

 

Barbara Hillary was born in New York in 1931. Her father died when she was a year old so her mother moved her and her sister to South Carolina where they would have a better chance to receive an education. Barbara Hillary later moved back to New York to attend New York University where she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She then worked in nursing with a focus on training staff to care for aging patients and developing service delivery systems in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. She had a long a distinguished career in the nursing industry.

 

Upon her retirement, Barbara Hillary developed an interest in Arctic travel and exploration. She began with photographing polar bears in Canada but this only whet her appetite to go deeper into the Arctic regions. She set her sights on the North Pole. She worked hard and raised $25,000 for her excursion. And she actually reached the North Pole on April 23, 2007—at the age of 75! Do you think that she stopped there? I mean, it was a difficult trip –-that she accomplished on skis--and she had already made history as the first African American woman to reach the North Pole. And she was certainly one of the oldest people ever to have reached the North Pole.

 

But no she didn’t stop there. No, she set her sights downwards. To the South Pole! And on January 6, 2011, she reached the South Pole at the age of 79! At one point along the trip, she was the only expeditioner left along the trip-the others had dropped out because of time, money or hardship. But not Barbara!

 

She skied to the very top of the world and the very bottom of the world within 5 years and in her 70s! (Yes, I said that she skied there!) She has absolutely made history! More importantly, she has made her dreams come true and she has shown that age, gender, class (she wasn’t a rich woman!) and race do not have to act as barriers to achieving dreams.

 

But I have told only part of Barbara Hillary’s story. She had already faced other obstacles—but those still didn’t stop her. Before even making her explorations, she had faced and survived lung cancer—at the age of 67. But her treatment had caused her to lose 25 percent of her lung capacity. And this was not her first bout with cancer; she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in her 20s. But she survived it. Then 40 years later, she survived lung cancer.

 

Then she faced the North and South Poles!

 

What an incredible lady. She also committed her infinite energy to community activism, being an advocate for senior and minority health and founding a magazine called The Peninsula.

 

But Barbara Hillary is not done yet. She has her sights on new horizons but, like the amazing lady that she is, she is keeping her secrets to herself—and will reveal them when she is ready.

 

Stay tuned! I’m sure that she will continue to amaze us all.

 

You can get more information about Barbara Hillary on the Remembering History Podcast page where you can find pictures, updates and even a short audio made by the Barbara Hillary herself about her explorations. There is also an interesting bio with links about her at Blackpast.org. (I haven’t mentioned that website before but it is an incredible resource on Black history so I highly recommend checking it. It has many contibutors, including myself, that are committed to keeping Black history alive. Remember Blackpast.org.) And Barbara Hillary has a website called barbarahillary.com where you can see more pictures and even make a donation to her next expedition. Barbarahillary.com.

 

Let’s move on discuss our next great explorer, our next history maker!

 

This story is a bit different from the others—you’ll see why in just a moment—but the story is still inspirational and even provides a lesson for us all. One might even call this story a fable but I’ll let you decide what you think of Saray Khumalo and her incredible determination.

 

She was determined to climb seven of the world’s highest summits—and she’s almost there. 43-year old Zambian born mother of two Saray Khumalo has already scaled Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa’s highest peak) and Mount Elbrus in Russia. Then she set her sights on the mother of all mountains: Mount Everest.

 

Not surprisingly, this has been a monumental task but for different reasons that you might think.

 

In 2014, Khumalo made her first attempt at climbing Mount Everest. And, yes, this would have made her the first black African woman to do it. (Of course, we remember that Sophie Danenberg was the first African American woman to climb Everest in 2006. Great story that you can find on last year’s wiki history podcast series on Great Explorers.) And Saray Khumalo was ready for the climb. She had prepared: She spent two weeks climbing in the Alps, she trained in the gym 5 days a week, and she went hiking, rock climbing and camping every weekend. She was ready. She had even raised 1 million rand for Lunchbox fund, an organization that provides lunches to school children in South Africa where she had moved after her marriage. She was ready physically, mentally and emotionally.

 

But sometimes events happen that change our plans. Events over which we have no control.

 

In 2014, Mount Everest experienced one of the worst avalanches in recorded history. Climbers were killed or missing. Guides were killed or went missing. Saray Khumalo, who was climbing at the time, was lucky: she lived and was unhurt. But the climb was cancelled and she had to leave the mountain.

 

But she was not deterred. In fact, Khumalo was determined to return to Mount Everest in the following year (2015) and reach her goal of scaling the world’s highest peak.

 

Again, Khumalo went through intensive training and preparation. And she raised funds for an organization called Multiply, which would build libraries for children in South Africa. She was ready and determined.

 

Another event occurred. This time, Nepal experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Thousands (estimates of 7, 500 people) were killed or went missing. Nepal itself was devastated.

 

Khumalo was climbing on the mountain when the devastating earthquake occurred. She was stranded for days on the mountain, often without any shelter. Helicopters were damaged or were searching for survivors on the mountain or below in Nepal so Khumalo had to use her training, wits and faith to survive until she could be rescued and returned to safety. And, fortunately, she did return to safety.

 

And, her climb was over. But she lived and was unharmed for which Saray Khumalo is grateful and happy. “I was able to return safely to my family,” she says. “Being the first black African woman to climb Everest would be fantastic,” she says, “but I don’t want to lose focus. I want to come back to my family. I want to come back alive.”

 

So thwarted by two devastating natural disasters—first the avalanche then the earthquake—Khumalo has not yet fulfilled her dream of scaling Mount Everest. But she definitely still has her sights set on the mountain. She has not given up her dream.

 

This passionate explorer notes that we all have our own little Everests.”

“I believe ordinary people like me can reach extraordinary heights and if I can inspire a little child to say: ‘This homework is my own little Everest and I can also do it,’ then I would have done my job.”

 

Wow, that’s definitely the goal of this podcast series on great explorers: to inspire us to reach for greater heights, more distant shores, or whatever our dreams may be. Or as I always return to: to boldly go where no one has gone before. In short, as Saray Khumalo wisely said it, “to face our own everests.”

 

So, Saray Khumalo has not yet scaled Mount Everest (although remember that she has already scaled Kilimanjaro and Elbrus!) but she is still pursuing her dream. So, do you see how her story is slightly different than the others? But I also hope that you see how her story is so incredibly inspirational and so incredibly uplifting. Her story is not over so stay tuned for more amazing adventures and feats by this great woman explorer.

 

And remember her wise words: “We all have our everests.”

 

What is your Everest?

 

Saray Khumalo is so right about that. What is your Everest? How will you face it, scale it, conquer it?

 

I know it can be scary, even frightening, but remember the determination of today’s great explorers like Saray Khumalo and Barbara Hillary (who went to the North and South poles), and the courage of William Sheppard (whose explorations in the Congo that we learned about in the previous podcast show). They were ordinary people who followed the dreams and faced their everests. And you can too. We all can.

 

On this high note, I think that it’s a good time to close this podcast show about great explorers, who were also great black women. This is a group that does not get a lot of attention so I felt it was important to devote an entire podcast show to their accomplishments.

 

In the next show, we will focus on former slaves who explored the caves in Mammoth Mountain. They did extraordinary feats under very difficult circumstances and guess what? They emerged victorious. Their stories are often neglected but not in this great and groundbreaking podcast series. They will get their due—it’s their time. That podcast will be the finale of the black explorers podcast series. I hope that you will listen to all three shows in the series; you will definitely find them inspirational. Perhaps you will get a few ideas of your own. I hope so. And if you do, please share them on the rememberinghistory.com website or facebook page. I would love to hear them!

 

I hope that you will remember to visit the rememberinghistory.com website for additional information and discussion or the Remembering History Podcast page for more information and pictures of these great people.   I really do believe that a picture speaks a thousand words and it just makes it all feel so real when you can actually see these great explorers. Take a look. You will also find a great group of fun and friendly historians who love to meet new people and have great discussions.

 

I will end this podcast show by asking again: what is your Everest?

 

And I look forward to seeing you next time at rememberinghistory.com where we are remembering history and we’re making it.

 

And we’re remembering those who are making it.

 

Bye for now!